Showing papers in "Educational Studies in 2013"

An Avalanche Is Coming. Higher Education and the Revolution Ahead

Abstract: Michael Barber, Professor, Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards (1997-2001), chief education advisor at Pearson, leading Pearson’s worldwide programme of research into education policy and the impact of its products and services on learner outcomes, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.Katelyn Donnelly, executive director at Pearson where she leads the Affordable Learning Fund, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.Saad Rizvi, Ph.D. in Economics and International Relations, Pearson’s executive director of efficacy, London, UK. Email: krdonnelly@pearson.com Address: Institute for Public Policy Research, 4th Floor, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF, UK.Prospects for higher education are discussed in the context of technologies and globalization sweeping over the world and affecting many of the world economy sectors. The report describes opportunities that will appear ahead of universities if they go for radical transformations in their key institutions, and analyzes the risks that may arise if such transformations lose to the challenges of the 21st century.The model of a traditional 21st century university and its functions are characterized. The authors examine the factors that can radically change the paradigm of a traditional university and points out that universities need to revise their existing business models and education patterns. Marketization of education has turned students into consumers dictating their own terms and has brought about a number of alternatives to universities for talented students. Therefore, universities need to define clearly what they can offer, differentiate themselves from competitors, and identify their target audience among potential student groups.The authors believe that universities of the future should rearrange functions performed by the existing universities. He also explains why the model of the future is more efficient than the existing one.It is supposed that the promising prospects proposed for higher education by the 21st century can only be reached if all players of the HE system, from students to the government, support the radical transformation initiative to tackle the challenges they are facing. The study defines the essential questions that all players should answer if they want a productive transformation in higher education.

The decision-making and changing behavioural dynamics of potential higher education students: the impacts of increasing tuition fees in England

Abstract: Recent changes in the English tuition fee policies have spurred a debate on the impacts on student choices for higher education. Expectations range from a sharp decrease in participation in higher education to relatively little change in student demand. We surveyed 1549 year 12 sixth-form students from four institutions spread geographically across England. We have broadened the approach to the study of student choice by not only considering the impact of going to higher education or not, but have included in our choice scenarios the consideration of looking for cheaper higher education alternatives and of looking for higher education abroad. This brings our study from a focus on widening participation and access into the realm of the dynamics of increasing choice in a globalised world. The data suggest that financial issues are key influencers. We conclude that the English higher education system may be confronted with significant changes in student choice patterns, given the study’s finding that student...

The “Crisis of Pity” and the Radicalization of Solidarity: Toward Critical Pedagogies of Compassion

Abstract: This article joins discussions concerning education as a means of cultivating compassion and pays explicit attention to the emotional complexities of teaching for/with compassion to help students become active and critical compassionate citizens. After reviewing the emotional aspects that establish feelings of pity and a sentimental relationship between the student as spectator and the ‘other’ who suffers, the article suggests that a politics of compassion is both necessary and valuable, albeit situated in practices that attend to the needs of vulnerable people and address structural inequalities. The article explores the conditions within which compassion in the classroom can be translated into protest at injustice or transmuted into action that radicalizes solidarity. For this purpose, the author proposes what he calls critical pedagogies of compassion, that is, critical pedagogies that interrogate the trappings of narratives of pity and seek to make a concrete difference in sufferers’ lives. This is no...

Technological pedagogical content knowledge in teacher education: in search of a new curriculum

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which teacher education institutions (TEI) prepare pre-service teachers for integrating information and communication technology (ICT) in their classroom practise. Specifically, a multiple case study was conducted to examine the ways in which the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was promoted in the existing curriculum of three TEI in Flanders. In the three cases, data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with the heads of the department and the ICT coordinators. Focus group discussions collected the perspectives of pre-service teachers and teacher educators. The results indicate that (1) the three institutions are moving from ICT as a ‘stand-alone’ course towards embedding ICT across the curriculum and (2) three approaches were adopted for developing pre-service teachers’ TPACK, each representing different ways of understanding the place of ICT in the curriculum. The discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities inherent in understanding how to develop pre-service teachers’ TPACK in the curriculum of TEI.

Gender representation in the public sector schools textbooks of Pakistan

Abstract: This paper examines gender biases in school textbooks after a decade long effort by the ministry of education (MoE) Pakistan and international organisation (IOs) to eliminate all forms of gender inequality in education. The intention underpinning these initiatives was to nurture a view of gender equality based consciousness through the introduction of more positive gendered images into school textbooks in Pakistan. However, the study discussed in this paper discovered that schools textbooks are still embedded with gender-biased messages and stereotypical representations of male and females. Gender biases in 24 textbooks (Urdu, English and Social Studies) from class 1 to 8 were analysed with the help of a qualitative content analysis approach. The paper draws attention to the insouciant approach taken by the MoE and IOs towards the goal of gender equality. The study found that, despite the prevailing claims of achievements, the new textbooks are ideologically invested – and contribute to the perpetuation o...

Changing the Subject: Neoliberalism and Accountability in Public Education

Abstract: This article examines the relation between the rise of neoliberalism and accountability in education. I argue that the contemporary accountability system of high-stakes standardized tests and privatized school choice is a manifestation of the neoliberal project of cultural reconstruction and moral reform. This study situates neoliberalism in the context of the accountability movement that emerged in the United States around 1970, and examines the implications of the philosophy, culture, and ethos of neoliberalism for educational thought and practice. I argue that resisting neoliberal forms of accountability is crucial, not only to defending the right of students to a genuine and equitable public education, but to refusing the extension of market values and culture to education. I conclude that neoliberal accountability fails to engender the cultural ideals it professes to value, and that this failure makes it possible to challenge the self-evident nature of neoliberal discourse and practices.

Social Networks Research in Higher Education

Abstract: We review the literature on social networks research in higher education from an analytic and an empirical perspective. Analytically, we find a bifurcated literature: a faculty-focused side explores the mechanisms of collaborative network formation and its influence on productivity, while a separate, student-focused side investigates mechanisms leading to interracial connections and the peer influence of dorm-mates on student outcomes. Empirically, we document the several social science fields that generate much of the work in this area. While the number of papers in this area has grown, there is no recognizable research community. Rather, there are several distinct research foci, hailing from differing disciplinary traditions, each with their own styles of analysis. Underdeveloped is a line of work that studies the university system as a whole composed of multiple network actors (staff, parents, students, faculty, administrators) and a line of work that regards larger network actors like teams, departments, and universities.

Classroom environment, achievement goals and maths performance: gender differences

Abstract: This study investigated how gender shapes the relationships between classroom environment, achievement goals and maths performance. Seventh-grade students (N = 498) from five urban secondary schools filled in achievement goal orientations and classroom environment scales at the beginning of the second semester. Maths performance was assessed as an average grade four months later. The results indicated gender differences in the perception of teacher and peers support, achievement goals and maths performance. The effects of goal orientations, teacher and peers support on achievement were moderated by gender. Furthermore, the interaction between classroom environment and performance goals on maths grades varied with gender. In the boys’ sample, performance-avoidance goals interacted with teacher support, while in the girls’ sample, performance-approach goals interacted with peers support in predicting maths grades. The educational implications of these gender differences are discussed.

Qualitative Research in Education: The Origins, Debates, and Politics of Creating Knowledge

Abstract: This article presents an overview and discussion of qualitative research in education by analyzing the roles of researchers, the history of the field, its use in policymaking, and its future influence on educational reform. The article begins by describing the unique position that qualitative educational researchers have in higher education, as they often attempt to serve both academic and policymaking audiences. The article then moves to discuss the ascent of qualitative methods in the social sciences and educational research. The article concludes by attempting to work through a number of pressing concerns that qualitative researchers may face in upcoming decades; specifically, the final section presents possible strategies to improve the relevance and impact of qualitative researchers’ work on reframing educational policy at local, state, and federal levels to meet the demands of equality and social justice.

Curriculum: from theory to practice

Abstract: by Wesley Null, Plymouth, United Kingdom, Rowman & Littlefield, 2011, 344 pp., $40.42 (paperback), ISBN 10: 1442209151 Null, noted curriculum and educational foundation scholar, presents a thorough...

What makes learners anxious while speaking English: a comparative study of the perceptions held by university students and teachers in China

Abstract: This study investigates the reasons leading to Chinese students’ foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA). China is a nation with the largest number of English as a foreign language learners in the world, but most of them have learnt “mute English” when it comes to expressing themselves orally in English. FLSA may be an important factor leading to their unsatisfactory learning achievements. However, it has not been adequately addressed in the educational settings of China. This study endeavours to make a contribution in this aspect. With two cross-validated methods (questionnaire survey and focused interview), this study drew comprehensive data from 332 participants at two universities in China and found 14 major reasons of Chinese students’ FLSA. It also compared students’ and teachers’ views about these reasons and reported the significant differences emerged. It further argued that understanding the reasons is an important step in reducing FLSA and hence enhancing learning effectiveness.

Education by Any Means Necessary: Peoples of African Descent and Community-Based Pedagogical Spaces

Abstract: This study examines how and why peoples of African descent access and utilize community-based pedagogical spaces that exist outside schools. Employing a theoretical framework that fuses historical methodology and border-crossing theory, the researchers review existing scholarship and primary documents to present an historical examination of how peoples of African descent have fought for and redefined education in nonschool educative venues. These findings inform the authors’ analysis of results from an oral history project they conducted into how Black Bermudian men utilized learning spaces outside schools, such as the family, Black church, and athletics clubs, to augment their personal and scholastic development. Based on their historical and empirical research findings, the authors argue that educational actors (including teachers, administrators, policy makers, and researchers) focused on school-based issues like the academic achievement gap would do well to recognize the impact learning spaces outside...

Emotional intelligence and negative feelings: a gender specific moderated mediation model

Abstract: This study aims to clarify the effect of emotional intelligence (EI) on negative feelings (stress, anxiety, burnout and depression) in a gender specific model. Four hundred and twenty-five primary school teachers (326 males, 99 females) completed the measures of EI, stress, anxiety, burnout and depression. The multi-group analysis was performed using a structural equation approach. The moderated mediation results show that there are gender related differences in the relationships of age, emotional intelligence, stress, anxiety, burnout and depression. The results imply that school managers should take into consideration the teachers’ personal variables such as gender and age in order to assess the use of emotional intelligence in coping with negative feelings at the place of work effectively.

Gender-segregated schooling and gender stereotyping

Abstract: Concern has been raised that segregation of girls and boys into separate classes leads to increased gender stereotyping. We tested this in a sample of 365 seventh-grade students attending a junior high school that offers both gender-segregated (GS) and co-educational classes. It was found that for both boys and girls, the more GS classes they took in the fall, the more gender stereotyped they were in their responding in the spring (controlling for initial levels of gender stereotyping). We concluded that GS likely heightens the salience of gender in the classroom thereby reinforcing and increasing gender stereotypes. As such, we argue that GS is a misguided approach to addressing any educational difficulties girls and boys might be having.

Learning outcomes and dropout intentions: an analytical model for Spanish universities

Abstract: The dropout rate among Spanish university students is very high compared to the European mean, creating a pressing need for the introduction of policies and programmes aimed at increasing rates of persistence In this article, we study this problem by combining students’ perceived learning outcomes with their dropout intentions, and we propose a research model that considers subjective factors that might impact this decision The model is estimated for two degree courses: Business Administration and Nursing The estimation method uses structural equations based on the partial least squares algorithm This allows the construction of indices for the variables of interest, enabling us to make comparisons between courses and over time To reduce dropout intentions, efforts need to be focused on obtaining better cognitive outcomes, as well as on achieving a higher level of student satisfaction with their university experience

An exploration of the gap between highest and lowest ability readers across 20 countries

Abstract: The aim of the present study, based on data from 20 countries, is to identify the pattern of variables (at country, school and student levels), which are typical of students performing below the low international benchmark compared to students performing at the advanced performance benchmark, in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006. The dependent variable of the analysis is a dichotomous variable, the values of which represent the two different performance groups of students. The independent variables are two sets of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development educational indicators, variables from PIRLS 2006 Reading Curriculum Questionnaire data, variables and indices based on data obtained from questionnaires for teachers, schools, parents and students. The analysis is based on classification and regression trees, which is a full hierarchical non-parametric method suited to detecting and interpreting complex reciprocal influences between a large number of independ...

The effect of trust on teacher empowerment: the mediation of teacher efficacy

Abstract: This study explores the impact of teachers’ perception of trust in colleagues on their sense of empowerment in Mainland China, with a particular focus on the mediating role of teacher efficacy. The results of a survey of 1646 teachers indicate that although teachers scored positively on trust in colleagues, efficacy and empowerment, they had relatively lower scores on general teaching efficacy (GTE) and participation in decision-making. Trust in colleagues was a significant predictor of teacher empowerment. In addition, personal teaching efficacy had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between trust in colleagues and teacher empowerment, while GTE had not. These findings lead to some implications for understanding the nature of GTE and the relationship between trust and teacher empowerment.

Navigating the Path to College: Latino Students’ Social Networks and Access to College

Abstract: Based on a qualitative study in Indiana, this article examines the college preparation process of Latino high school students. It uses social capital theory to identify the ways families, peers, and school staff members contribute to students’ access to college across the stages of college preparation. Findings suggest that students receive strong support in their development of aspirations from families, but they face multiple challenges in accessing the information and support they need to realize their college goals. It offers implications for families, schools, and higher education institutions on how to more effectively support college access for Latino students.

Elusive Images of the Other: A Postcolonial Analysis of South Korean World History Textbooks

Abstract: South Korean educators and curriculum scholars have attempted to challenge Eurocentric points of view in history education. Despite these efforts, the dominant textbooks and teaching practices in South Korea continue to project colonial epistemologies. This article argues that postcolonial inquiry into knowledge production can help expand the debate. Grounded in a framework of postcolonial theories, we examine three Korean high school world history textbooks for the ways in which they reproduce Eurocentric colonial hegemony. To conduct our study, we developed four analytical criteria: (a) constructions of Subject/Other, (b) discourses of inclusion/exclusion, (c) silencing of voices, and (d) narratives of re/colonization. Focusing on two major historical themes in the textbooks—the Discovery of New Trade Routes and the Industrial Revolution—we postulate the need to pluralize historical consciousness, reflect the contributions of the East to world history, and rethink curriculum and teaching practices.

Standards for Academic and Professional Instruction in Foundations of Education, Educational Studies, and Educational Policy Studies Third Edition, 2012, Draft Presented to the Educational Community by the American Educational Studies Association's Committee on Academic Standards and Accreditation

Abstract: This third edition of the Standards for Academic and Professional Instruction in Foundations of Education, Educational Studies, and Educational Policy Studies is presented to the educational commun...

Community Building in Social Justice Work: A Critical Approach.

Abstract: In this article we argue for the importance of building critical communities as an integral, yet neglected, aspect of education for social justice. We begin by defining critical communities and by describing goals and vision for social justice education. We then explore how community is discussed in the education literature, limitations and challenges of calling for community, and images of critical communities in social justice work. We end by exploring the role that individuals can play in nurturing and enabling social justice efforts, offering some strategies to promote community building within and beyond higher education.

Are teachers' psychological control, autonomy support and autonomy suppression associated with students' goals?☆

Abstract: This study investigated associations between student-perceived teacher behaviours and students’ personal goal orientations. Thus, the study applied theoretical concepts from self-determination theory and parenting style in an attempt to enhance understanding of additional environmental characteristics possibly affecting personal goal orientation. Moreover, it examined psychological control in a classroom context, whereas it was previously investigated mainly within parent–child relationships. Junior-high school students (n = 191) completed questionnaires to reveal their perceptions of teacher practices and their own personal goals. The distinction between teachers’ psychological control and autonomy suppression was supported by confirmatory factor analysis; however, they were highly correlated. When regarded as two dimensions of teachers’ compelling behaviours, they associated positively with performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals and negatively with mastery goals. Teachers are advised to av...

Life skills in educational contexts: testing the effects of an intervention programme

Abstract: This study examined the effects of a training programme on students’ acquisition of life skills, life satisfaction, life orientation and expectations about academic achievement. Participants were allocated to either an intervention group (n = 41) that took part in a life skills programme, or a control group (n = 43). Participants completed the Youth Experiences Scale 2.0, the satisfaction with life scale, the life orientation test-revised and the expectations about academic achievement. Results showed that students who received the intervention reported having more developmental experiences related to life skills, greater life satisfaction and a stronger tendency to be optimistic. Expectations about academic achievement were higher for the intervention group before and after the intervention. In conclusion, there are benefits to providing life skills training to adolescents in educational contexts.

Interviewing children in uncomfortable settings: 10 lessons for effective practice

Abstract: This paper reports key processes in interviewing children in a highly constrained setting in which many features of effective interviewing children were either absent or were contradicted, and in which many aspects of the interview situation rendered them potentially uncomfortable for the children. The children left feeling positive about themselves and the interviews, having given frank and useful research data. The paper reports the strategies used by the interviewers to bring about these positive outcomes. It reports 10 steps, which the interviewers took whilst working within the constraints, to make the interviews effective and positive by rendering the strange familiar and by attending to the all-round quality of the qualitative interviews. The paper makes recommendations for interviewing children and how researchers can operate within children’s frame of reference and their expectations of adult behaviour and the interview situation.

Cognitive style and gender differences in children’s mathematics achievement

Abstract: Males are often found to outperform females in tests of mathematics achievement and it has been proposed that this may in part be explained by differences in cognitive style. This study investigated the relation between Wholistic-Analytic and Verbal-Imagery cognitive style, gender and mathematics achievement in a sample of 190 Australian primary school students aged between 8–11 years (M = 9.77, SD = 1.05). It was hypothesised that males would outperform females in mathematics achievement tests, and that gender would interact with cognitive style on mathematics performance. A significant gender/cognitive style interaction was found. Boys with an Analytic/Imagery style achieved significantly higher results than the girls with an Analytic/Imagery style, supporting the contention that certain cognitive styles affect boys and girls mathematics performance differently. Implications of results and strategies for improving mathematics achievement among girls are discussed.

A nonviolent approach to social justice education

Abstract: This article advocates a nonviolent approach to social justice education. First, social justice education literature is reviewed, and two contrasting and influential approaches—critical theory and poststructural theory—are the focus of critical analysis. A nonviolent approach is proposed as an alternative. Second, the notion of social justice is reexamined to reveal its tie with the notion of the individual, and the concept of nonviolence in its emphasis on relationality is discussed. Three facets of nonviolence are further elaborated: relational dynamics, inner peace, and nonviolent means. Third, these facets are translated into important aspects of a pedagogy of nonviolence: Integrating the inner and the outer work; shifting the struggles of opposites to the interdependence of differences; using and improvising nonviolent teaching strategies. To enrich theoretical understandings and inspire practical insights, this article also interweaves international wisdom traditions (including African ubuntu, Buddi...

Role of peers in student academic achievement in exogenously formed university groups

Abstract: We estimate the influence of classmates’ ability characteristics on student achievement in exogenously formed university student groups. The study uses administrative data on undergraduate students at a large selective university in Russia. The presence of high-ability classmates has a significant positive effect on individual grades in key economics and mathematics courses as well as on overall academic performance. While a simple linear-in-means model reveals moderate peer effects, non-linear specifications give strong evidence that students at the top of the ability distribution derive the greatest benefit from high-ability classmates. Less able students are not affected by peers and have no significant influence on peers’ outcomes.

Students’ reported justifications for their representational choices in linear function problems: an interview study

Abstract: Thirty-six secondary school students aged 14–16 were interviewed while they chose between a table, a graph or a formula to solve three linear function problems. The justifications for their choices were classified as (1) task-related if they explicitly mentioned the to-be-solved problem, (2) subject-related if students mentioned their own characteristics as representational users, (3) context-related if contextual features surrounding the choice were mentioned and (4) representation-related if formal characteristics of the representations were pointed out. Justifications were mostly task- and subject-related, although contextual and representational features also played an important role. Some students (reportedly) tried to reconcile different (task-, subject-, context- and representation-related) factors before selecting a representation, which was interpreted as an attempt to use their meta-representational competence to make appropriate representational choices. The influence of the didactical contract...

Socialist Revolution: Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, and the Emergence of Marxist Thought in the Field of Education.

Abstract: Upon its publication in 1976, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis’ Schooling in Capitalist America was the most sophisticated and nuanced Marxian social and political analysis of schooling in the United States. Thirty-five years after its publication, Schooling continues to have a strong impact on thinking about education. Despite its unquestionable influence, it has received strikingly little historical attention. This historical article revisits the scholarship of Bowles and Gintis and the milieu in which Schooling was conceived. Specifically, it contextualizes the production and reception of Schooling to better understand the emergence of Marxist thought in the field of education in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. It also seeks to understand how the emergence of Marxist thought in the field was connected to the rise of an Academic Left—an intellectual shift in the academy toward Marxist social and political theory as a framework to theorize democratic socialist movement-building against capitali...

From pre-service to in-service teachers: a longitudinal investigation of the professional development of English language teachers in secondary schools

Abstract: This study reports on a longitudinal inquiry into professional identity construction among six novice cross-border English language teachers from mainland China, who completed their pre-service teacher education in Hong Kong (HK) and began their teaching practice in local HK schools. The findings indicate that the participants navigated obstacles in teaching by deploying their own multiple languages as a cultural and linguistic repertoire. The findings also show that the teachers experienced difficulty legitimising their professional identity in the teaching community, where contextual issues and power interplays mediated the process. Furthermore, it is found that the participants’ commitment to teaching was negatively influenced by their non-legitimate position in the teaching community and the discordance between their teaching beliefs and the norms and values of their workplace. This study suggests that complex inter-relationships between marginal status in and legitimate membership of the community, b...